Why PR is so vital: Apple's next move is a lose-lose

Rumors have started to fly around the internet about an iPhone 4 recall, and this got us thinking… while we think a mandatory recall is very unlikely (as the iPhone 4 isn’t much of a safety concern), this is now a no win-situation for Apple.

When accounts of the iPhone 4’s reception woes first began to surface — shortly after the device’s release — Apple instantly denied the problem. We heard things like, “There is no issue,” and “All phones have some signal degradation depending on how you hold them,” and so on. Apple’s initial strategy seemed to be to deny the existence of an issue.

After the initial wave of consumer complaints came some expert testimony. People with RF engineering backgrounds and fancy degrees began stating that due to the way the iPhone’s antenna is engineered, grasping the phone “incorrectly” could cause the RF emission from the antenna to convert into heat, thus losing or diminishing the signal. To this Apple’s response was the admission of a “shocking” software error that causes your iPhone 4 (and presumably all other iPhones) to display the wrong number of “bars” in your signal meter.

Now, onto the latest — and perhaps most damning — round of critiques. Consumer Reports, a highly respected company in the United States, has confirmed through laboratory tests that the root issue with the iPhone 4 is a design problem with the antenna. The findings have resulted in the iPhone 4 receiving a “not recommended” rating from Consumer Reports, even though it otherwise tested as one of the best smartphones on the market. This morning, a member of the Consumer Reports team was on CBS’ The Early Show, demonstrating to Harry Smith how to “fix” your iPhone with a piece of duct tape. Ouch.

So here Apple sits. The Cupertino company first denied the antenna problems then admitted to there being some sort of software problem that had to do with reception perception. Meanwhile, the rest of the iPhone universe – lovers and haters alike, as well as Consumer Reports – has come to the conclusion that the issue with the iPhone 4 is definitively hardware and design related. So what about some sort of voluntary recall?

Occasionally, if done properly, a voluntary recall can earn a company some good will with its customer base. However, for Apple, that ship has long since sailed. Apple is going to release some sort of software patch for the iPhone 4, and if that doesn’t remedy the issue, here are Apple’s options.

Do nothing. Stick with the stance that there is no antenna issue with the iPhone 4, remind users that holding all smartphones a certain way will cause signal degradation, and deal with the impending lawsuits. Refute the concrete evidence and try to ride out the public relations nightmare.

Do some sort of voluntary recall of the first wave of iPhone 4’s. By doing this it would be admitting that, at best, the company was wrong and did not fully understand its own product, or at worst, it lied to its customer base. Deal with the backlash, and still potential lawsuit, and move on.

These are the choices that Apple has left itself through its management (read: mismanagement) of this situation. Neither option is all that appealing, and it leaves Apple with a pretty unenviable decision.

We know it is sporadic – region, device, environmental conditions, etc. This just proves something we already know.

Yes, I am willing to spend $600 on a phone just to be a guinea pig for Apple’s new design. That is really what we dealing with here. A change in design that wasn’t well tested that people (not all, but many nevertheless) are dealing with.

While I am critical of Apple I am also not an Android fan. I am ready to walk away from WinMo and my HD2 and might even contemplate embracing Apple as much as I despise their tight grip on open software and content. But this fiasco and how Apple is handling is just another reason why that company turns me off so much.

Any other company the Apple fans would be having a field day – just like the Android boys/girls are doing right now. But the tone of many Apple fans just perpetuate this “I can do no wrong” mentality of this company. And this mentality is their own undoing as we can see with the iPhone4.

Now Apple will never go under because of this. I laugh at those posts. But this shows Apple as just another vendor – no better than say Microsoft. And that was always Apple’s selling point and reason for the higher price tag for their wares.

The irony here is so sweet I might need to see the dentist before it is all over.

MikeD

Exactly. Apple is just another vendor. And they are in the middle of a PR screw up.

These threads show how more extreme the Apple haters are. I’ve never seen such vitriol from Americans against an American company. They actually are wishing the company to die around here. When people behave like that, it is at the core of being a FANBOY as in totally unreasonable.

Its okay to be silent Apple. I understand you want to keep your projects a secret as long as possible. Car makers do it all the time and nobody complains. But when a product has a defect/possible defect the silent treatment will hurt you. Apple screwed up royally and the next time they speak to the public on this they better have the fix.

PAPINYC

Hey Waka Waka, need some duct tape? Duct tape also absorbs salinity.

N8nnc

Oh please never let me have a perceived problem blown out of proportion on a product that is selling so well (with no evidence of significant returns) that manufacturing can’t keep up!

Wait, actually I want everyone to return their iPhone4 – so I can actually get one;-)

justice86

Why would you comment and defend somthing you don’t even own?

http://www.musicibe.com KB

Honestly, I’m glad that this is happening because (like the guy that did the video for Iphone 4 vs. EVO 4G), I have to deal with Iphone users and their false sense of entitlement because of this damn phone on a regular basis. I’m glad that Apple is finally getting the brunt of this BS for what is really not that superior of a phone in comparison to what’s out there.

Harry

They knew they had a problem. This is why, for the first time, they are entering the iPhone “protective case” market with an insulative cover for the surrounding bezel/antenna. With this product attached you can’t directly “short” the antenna.

And problem denial is their way of not accepting responsibility for error, and is unethical. Shame on Apple!

T Man

From Airplane! I imagine this exchange in modern day
“Shanna, they bought their iPhones, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let ’em drop signal.”

Then why do you keep buying more and more phones? Don’t like any of them?

And you *STILL* bought the iPhone too?

ra

People- just put a cover on the damn phone which will prevent hands from blocking the signal. problem solved!

ra

I have a IPhone 4 and its not perfect and Im fine with that. I like the EVO 4 and that’s also a good phone also. But what i dont understand is why everyone who doesnt own an Iphone have to bash it? WTF?

will

This is the first time I can remember in recent years where I fear that the stock might significantly dip, independent of the market.